Taking Chances
by alexnoel90
Summary: The Final Battle is over, and now all Harry Potter wants is to live a normal life, but he will soon discover that it won't be as easy as he thinks.
1. One Week Later

"Harry for goodness sake wake up!" Hermione said to him on a very sunny morning, and now was waking Ron. It had been a week since the battle and they had been staying at the burrow, since neither of them had anywhere else to go to. Harry was once again sharing Ron's small bedroom. This particular morning was not going to be a happy one. They were leaving early to attend a mass funeral at Hogwarts for all of those who had died in the final battle. Harry wondered whether his life would ever return to a normal, simple, routine. All week he had attended interviews for the Daily Prophet, meetings at the ministry to plan the rebuild of the wizarding world (as he felt a little guilty for the downfall happening in the first place), and he had been helping repair the damage at Hogwarts. Every day was full of dissaparating, floo networks, and physical labor, making him constantly exhausted. Because of his schedule he had hardly spoken to Ginny at all. He was a little disappointed about this, but also strangely relieved. He really didn't know what he would say to her if he did find himself alone with her. Should he explain where he had been and what he had been doing? Or, should he simply embrace her? But what if she didn't want to talk to him? What if, in his absence, she became uninterested in him? These worries floated around Harry's head as he dressed, but he hardly had any time to dwell on them. This was, once again, a busy day.

****

The sight he saw as he entered the kitchen made him want to turn around and go back into bed. Mrs. Weasley was wearing long, black dress robes and a black veil that covered her face. George was sitting at the table starring blankly and glassy eyed at the wall ahead. He looked like he had been hit with a body bind curse; he wasn't blinking or eating the toast in front of him. Mr. Weasley was sitting in chair looking almost as bad as George. Harry had stood there for a full minute, the despair in the room overwhelming when Mrs. Weasley finally noticed his presence.

"Oh! Harry good morning." She said in a tone that he could tell was fake enthusiasm.

"Are the other's ready?"

"They should be down soon." Said Harry, hardly wanting to look into her eyes.

He wasn't sure why he was feeling so awkward and distant. He was just as mournful as they were, perhaps more, but for some reason he felt extremely uncomfortable at the fact that he had to acknowledge everyone's death in about an hour.

****

Harry, Hermione, and every single Weasley sat in the white, fold out chairs that were set up on the Hogwarts grounds, exactly where Dumbledore's funeral had taken place about one year ago. Harry was hardly paying any attention when the small wizard started speaking. He was too overwhelmed thinking about all those who lay coffins in front of him, all the people who died for him. George was sitting to Harry's right and he could hardly bring himself to look at him. He heard the wizard say, "And now, a moment of silence for those you lay peacefully before us. Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin, Remus Lupin, Vincent Crabbe, Severus Snape, Fred Weasley…"

He stopped listening. He couldn't take in any more. He thought of Snape, who had never been the evil git he always thought he was. He thought of Tonks and Remus, and of their son Teddy. He was determined to be a fantastic Godfather to Teddy, to be everything Sirius would have been to him. And then he thought of Fred. Harry had always felt as if he was an adopted member of the Weasley family, making Fred seem like an older brother. George was sobbing silently next to Harry. Seeing George sitting there without Fred made it all seem so real. He was really gone. All of them were really gone.

The next thing he knew people were standing up, and a procession was starting. Harry really didn't think he could handle seeing the dead. He leaned over to Hermione, who was sitting on his left and at the end of the row and whispered,

"I'm going for a walk."

"What? Harry why…"she started

"I just…I just can't. I just need to go clear my head." He explained.

She looked at him sympathetically and let him cut in front of her as their row began to snake it's way toward the front.

He wasn't really sure where he was going, all he knew was that he needed to be by himself. Eventually he found himself by the tree he, Hermione, and Ron used to sit under. He sat there, leaning against the trunk and taking in the spectacular view of the black lake. The sun was high now and it was starting to get hot. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearing his head of all thought, of all feeling…

And then he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly and turned to see the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, making the view of the lake seem completely irrelevant.

Ginny" he said softly as she sat down beside him. Her eyes were very pinkand puffy, and her cheeks a blotchy red.

I saw you leave, and I was curious where you were going, so I followed you I hope you don't mind." She was looking at the ground as she spoke. Harry reached out his hand and lifter her chin so that she was looking at him.

Not at all." He said, giving her a soft smile. He couldn't help but noticesomething else about her appearance, other than the obvious signs of crying. She had deep purple bags under her eyes, and she looked much paler than usual.

I haven't gotten to talk to you much since you've been back." She said, looking out towards the lake. "How are you?"

He didn't even know how to begin to answer that question.

"Exhausted." Harry stated simply

She laughed slightly at this statement. He couldn't help but feel elated when she did this. There was his Ginny, and her sweet, dazzling smile. A gentle breeze blew across them and Harry caught a brief flowery scent issuing from Ginny's hair.

He took her hand in his and looked into her brilliant brown eyes.

"I missed you."

"No you didn't" she responded a little too quickly. "From what I've hear you were very busy."

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "What have you heard?:"

"That you were finding You-Know-Who's Horcrux's. Is it true there were seven?"

"Yes." He said, moving a bit closer to her.

"And that you got attacked at Godric's Hollow. You broke into the Ministry of Magic. You broke into Gringotts…"

"All true." He responded. "And all the while I was missing you."

She was looking at the ground again. He reached up once more and turned her face to his.

"We camped out a lot, and we would take turns keeping watch outside the tent. When it was my turn I used to take out the Marauders Map and watch your dot. I just wanted to make sure you were safe, and I thought that maybe if I stared at your name hard enough you would know I was thinking about you."

Ginny was starring at him when he finished his speech, gazing at him with disbelief. And then she was giving him that blazing look that he knew and loved. She inched closer to him and whispered, "I missed you too. More than you will ever know."

Then her soft, sweet lips were on his, and it was better than he remembered. He was holding her to him. Her warmth seemed to be filling him up, and he never wanted to stop kissing her. She was perfect. And now there was no doubt in his mind that Ginny Weasley was, and always had been, his.

****

They were back at the burrow and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the living room digesting the enormous meal Mrs. Weasley had made. Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, and George (even though Mrs. Weasley begged him to stay the night) had all left. Ginny had already gone up to bed, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking in the kitchen.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" Harry started.

"Of course," said Hermione, looking up from the book she had been curled up with.

"Is Ginny alright? I mean, I couldn't help but notice that she has circles under her eyes and she looked a little pale."

Hermione looked a little uncomfortable, but she answered him nevertheless.

"Well, actually Harry, I don't think she has been sleeping well lately. Every night she's had a nightmare that I've had to wake her up from. They seemed to have gotten worse even in the few nights we've been here. I don't think she wants anyone to know. She never mentions it to me the next day, so maybe she doesn't even remember."

Harry looked down at his hands. He was sure he was showing a lot of concern on his face, and he didn't really want Ron to see him fretting like this.

"Harry don't worry about it too much" Hermione said. "They're just dreams. She will be ok."

"Yeah. But in my experience, constant nightmares aren't something you should take lightly."

At that moment Mrs. Weasley walked into the living room.

"Alright you three, Arthur and I have just been talking. We've cleaned up the extra bedrooms so that you can all have your own rooms. Harry, you can have Fr—I mean, George's old room and Hermione you can take Percy's room."

Nobody mentioned the slip of Fred's name as they all went upstairs to bed. Harry gathered his stuff from Ron's room to move it to Percy's in silence.

"Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked timidly.

"Yeah. Why?" He grunted back.

"Nothing, I just couldn't help noticing you aren't talking to me. Or looking at me for that matter."

Ron didn't respond, so Harry picked up his stuff and was halfway out the door when Ron said,

"Just don't hurt her this time. Because if you do I'll have to kill you."

Harry smirked. And before he left for bed he said,

"I won't. I Promise."

****

He heard her cry as if it was the clearest sound in the world. He awoke at once and sat up quickly, listening hard. He heard it again, that soft cry of despair, and at once he was sprinting down the hall, down the stairs to the first floor landing and into Ginny's room. He closed the door softly behind him and cast the "muffilato" charm in hopes no one else would wake. Ginny was tossing in her bed, squirming, letting out soft crys of pain and misery. He sat on the edge of her bed and gently grabbed her and shook her softly.

"Ginny" he whispered.

She continued to cry

"Shhhh Ginny wake up. You're just having a bad dream. Wake up."

Her eyes flashed open and she gazed up at Harry. She was panting and sweating. It took her a minute to take Harry into focus, but she sat up and Harry could see that hot tears were flooding down her face. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back and holding her tight.

"Shhh. It's ok. It was only a dream" he whispered to her as she continued to sob into his chest.

"You were dead." She said softly. "I watched him kill you. I was standing there and if I could have just moved quick enough I could save you, but something was stopping me. I couldn't move and all I could do was watch…"

It broke his heart to hear her say this. That she was still worried; still afraid.

"I'm right here" he said stroking her hair. "I've got you, and I'm not going anywhere I promise."

He gently laid her back down, and pulled the covers back so that he could crawl in next to her. Once they were settled he pulled her close once more. She snuggled up to him and he held her as tightly as he could without hurting her. He was now caressing the back of her neck and was placing soft kisses on the top of her head. After a while she pulled herself back just enough so that she could look at him. He stared into those beautiful brown eyes and he felt himself melt.

"You were dead." She whispered again.

"It was just a dream" he said again, kissing her forehead "It was just…:

"No!" she said firmly, startling Harry.

"Ginny shhh.."

"No Harry. It wasn't just a dream. You were actually dead. I saw you. I saw Hagrid carrying you out of the woods. I saw him lay you down. You were gone. Everything went quiet in my head and all I could do was stare at you, helpless, and….and…"

She was sobbing again, but this time Harry moved closer to her and began softly kissing her lips. He was squeezing her and kissing her as if he could somehow absorb her pain so she wouldn't feel it anymore.

"It's ok" he whispered between kisses. "I'm here. I'm alive"

He pulled her head into his chest and said,

"Listen."

They lay their quietly for a while before her spoke again.

"That's my heart, Ginny. I'm alive. I've always been alive, I was never actually dead. Well…I mean I was…but, not really at the same time."

Silence fell between them once more.

Harry thought Ginny had cried herself to sleep, and he closed his own eyes and he breathed in her sweet smell.

"Harry?" she whispered

His eyes snapped open.

"What is it?" he asked, concern flooding him.

"It's just…I love you."

He smiled, relieved and softly kissed her lips once more.

"I love you too, Ginny." He whispered back. "Now get some sleep."

"Don't leave" she said as her eyes drooped.

He pulled her closer to show her he had no intentions of going back to his own bed. They were both happier and more comfortable then either of them had been in a very long time, and they fell asleep.

That was their first mistake.


	2. Baby Steps

_**Chapter Two: Baby Steps**_

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS GOING ON?"

Harry sat up hastily to see Mrs. Weasley standing in the doorway, her face bright red.

"Mrs. Weasley, really, it's not what it looks like…"

"ONE NIGHT! I let you have your own rooms for ONE NIGHT and this is what happens. I thought I could treat you as adults now! You can defeat Voldemort and you can live on your own in the woods for months but you can't stay in your own room for ONE BLOODY NIGHT. Obviously I was wrong, you're still just a child."

Her words stung, and he could feel his cheeks flushing.

"Mum, honestly, nothing happened." Ginny said timidly, her head just poking out of the covers.

"I want you both downstairs in the kitchen. NOW."

Mrs. Weasley stomped noisily down the stairs.

****

"Oh Harry this is entirely my fault!" Hermione exclaimed.

They were in Ron's room. Breakfast had been the absolutely dreadful. Mrs. Weasley had lectured Harry and Ginny for what seemed like hours about respect, and how they should learn to control themselves. The couldn't get a word in edgewise until, finally, Ginny yelled

"I WAS HAVING A NIGHTMARE. I'VE BEEN HAVING NIGHTMARES ALL BLOODY WEEK AND HARRY CAME TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG!"

The room had gone completely silent at this outburst, and Mrs. Weasley sent Harry, Ron, and Hermione upstairs so she could talk to Ginny alone.

"What do you mean?"

"I should have never told you about Ginny's nightmares! If I hadn't told you, you wouldn't have been listening for her and you wouldn't have gone into her room and…"

Harry cut her off.

"Hermione I wasn't listening for her, I just heard her. Even if you hadn't said anything I would have worried and I would have gone to see what was wrong. Don't worry yourself, none of this was your fault."

Hermione looked as if she had more she wanted to say, but instead she stood up silently from Ron's bed and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, looking extremely confused.

"To see how Ginny is." She said without glancing back.

The tension in the room seemed to have died a bit, so Harry chanced a glance at Ron.

"So what was her nightmare about, did she tell you?" Ron asked.

"Me." Harry stated simply. "She was remembering seeing me dead."

"Oh" was all Ron responded with.

"Yeah."

"Well mate," Ron said, walking over to him. "I'm glad you care about my sister so much that you run to save her at any sign of danger, but sleeping with her in her bed was kind of stupid."

It was a minute before Harry realized Ron was laughing.

"So, are we okay then?" Harry asked giving him a weak smile.

"Yeah, alright." Said Ron. "Fancy a game of chess?"

"Sure." Said Harry, now feeling fully relieved. "But go easy on me, we haven't played in a while."

****

After speaking with Ginny, Mrs. Weasley had forgiven Harry (for the most part) and had now taken to babying Ginny. Ginny was rebelling under this treatment, of course, and could be heard every few hours or so yelling "I AM NOT A CHILD!" from her bedroom, to which she was now confined.

After dinner that night, Harry, Hermione and Ron sat in the living room again. They were talking about the future, which Harry was enjoying immensely because he now had endless possibilities.

"We should all get an apartment or something," Ron was saying as he and Harry played another game of chess. "It was kind of fun all living together in that tent. Except for being possessed by that bloody locket."

"Oh yes, and I suppose I will have to do all the cooking and cleaning again?" Hermione piped up from the sofa.

Harry stared awkwardly down at the chessboard. He wasn't sure if Ron and Hermione had talked about their kiss during the heat of battle, or if they had even decided if that meant something was happening between them. He fully supported them being together, but he knew it wasn't his place to speak his mind about this.

Just as Harry was thinking this, a soft _tap, tap, tap _was heard from the window.

Hermione stood up and let in a brown barn owl which had three letters. They were addressed to each of them. As Harry opened his he noticed the Hogwarts crest.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I hope you are doing well and you are enjoying the beginning of your summer. If possible, I would like to have a meeting with you at your earliest convienence. I have sent similar letters to Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley. It would be helpful if the three of you could meet me on the same day. Please let me know what date and time would work for you._

_Look forward to hearing from you,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

"So McGonagall is headmistress now?" Ron said looking up from his letter.

"I guess so." Harry said, looking towards Hermione. "What do you think this is about."

"I've no idea." She said. "Well, I suppose we should talk to your mum Ron and see if she has anything planned for us this week so we can write back when we are free."

"Yeah, I suppose." Said Ron, standing up and walking toward the stairs.

"OI! MUM! COME DOWN HERE A MINUTE!" He shouted.

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "You don't have to shout!"

Mrs. Weasley came bustling down the stairs looking flustered.

"My goodness what was that about! I was just giving Ginny a potion to help her sleep through the night."

"I'm glad she just loved that." Ron mumbled under his break, making Harry bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

"Mrs. Weasley, we've all just received letters from Professor McGonagall. She said she wants to speak with the three of us and wants us to write when we are free, so we wanted to ask you if you have anything planned for us this week."

"Oh. Well let me see," she said, sitting down in an armchair. "Actually, tomorrow we have absolutely nothing planned. But if that's too short of notice we could work out another day."

"I'll write her back write now." Hermione said, leaving the room to get parchment and a quill.

"I wonder what she wants to talk to you about." Mrs. Weasley pondered as she sat back into the chair. "Goodness I'm tired. I wish your father didn't have to work so much."

****

Harry was back in Ron's room now. Even though Mrs. Weasley had forgiven him, his own bedroom privileges had been taken away. As he and Ron were getting ready for bed there was a soft knock at the door.

Ron opened the door and revealed a very tired looking Ginny on the landing.

"What are you doing up, I thought mum had given you a potion!" Ron exclaimed as Ginny pushed her way past him.

"I didn't actually take it." She said. "I don't need some potion to help me sleep I'm not a baby."

"Well what do you want then?"

"I came to say goodnight." She said looking at Harry.

"Goodnight." Ron stated, trying to push her out.

"Not to you!" She said, sneaking past him once more.

"Ugh, fine then, make it quick." Ron said, leaving the room and heading toward the bathroom.

Ginny walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hi." She said, smiling up at him.

"Hi." He answered back bringing his head down to hers.

Their lips met, and Harry melted into her. She made him weak, and he loved her for that. Her lips were sweet and soft, moving in perfect synchronization with his. He felt her tongue playing tantalizingly on his lower lip, begging for access. He opened his mouth, her tongue exploring his mouth….

"Ahem." Ron said from the doorway, making them jump apart.

"Goodnight." She whispered up to him.

He hugged her close one last time and whispered in her ear,

"Please take your potion. I know you don't want to, but do it for me."

She kissed him once more to let him know that she would, and then left the room.

Just as he and Ron were climbing into bed, there was another knock on the door.

"Who is it!" Ron called from his bed.

"Hermione."

She opened the door and came into the room, wearing a very short nightgown. Harry couldn't help but notice the change in Ron's expression.

"I just wanted to let you know that McGonagall wrote me back. We are meeting her at 1:00 tomorrow."

"Brilliant. Thanks Hermione." Harry said from his bed."

She turned to leave when Ron called,

"Hey, Hermione…"

"Yes?" she said turning around.

"Goodnight." He said, and gave her a weak smile.

"Goodnight, Ron." She said smiling back, her cheeks flushing slightly.

She closed the door softly behind her as she left.

"So." Harry said in the dark. "Are you two ever going to actually get together, or is it always going to be like this?"

Ron threw his pillow across the room at Harry.


End file.
